GaKaye is giving you good advise. If they don't have your social security # they cannot touch you. We walked away from a vacation plan years ago. Oh, we got statements, threw them in the garbage and have not heard from them since. We did contact an attorney friend and he gave us the same info.

I walked away from two units at the old Pelican and never heard a word from anyone. However, I still get owner pricing when I rent directly from Simpson Bay Resort, go figure?!

--------------------"All of us have in our veins the exact same percentage of salt in our blood that exists in the ocean...And when we go back to the sea...we are going back from whence we came."
>((((ļ>

I don't know if they have our social sec numbers. But we would like to get rid of our timeshare also. This storm was a wake-up call, but after looking on VRBO over the last several months, and seeing how cheap some places are to simply rent for a trip, vs the $800 annual maintenance fee, we would really like to be able to get rid of it and simply rent where, when, and if, we want to. We own an October week. We would hate to be trapped on the island and have some impending storm barreling at us.

As a bankruptcy lawyer I can attest that in general many people spend entirely too much money trying to avoid perceived negative effects on their credit scores and/or reports (they're two different things). I'm not saying that one's credit is unimportant, but IMO its not worth thousands to stay in an unfavorable contract. Additionally, there are remedies available under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, when a report is challenged it is removed while the reporter has an opportunity to substantiate it, and in most instances they just can't be bothered to do so and the report never reappears. I can't count the number of times people in serious need for relief delay for months or years based on a false belief that the perceived effect on their credit will sound the death knell for their financial future. And that's certainly a perception that the financial industry encourages.

Check your contract. We bought Flamingo in 1991 and since it was an older contract we had a clause that allowed us to turn it back to Diamond without any obligation, as long as we were up to date with the maintenance fees. We had to submit the request in writing and they gave us a contract release. Of course they didn't like it one bit and gave us a bit of run-a-round. We did this while on the island so we had the time to deal with it.

We also returned 2 units to Pelican/SBR They threatened to foreclose, I said why waste the time and effort, let me turn them back to you. They said no, so I said ok foreclose. A month later I received a letter with forms to fill out to turn them in.

I would suggest you first reach out to the resort and see what their policies are. As long as your maintenance is paid current just write up a contract that your are returning your unit, state the unit number weeks etc. get it notarized so there are no questions as to who owned the unit. Then mail that to the resort certified. Do not pay to return except make sure your maintenance is paid up. Even past maintenance even if you didnít use it. Thatís not their fault. If they come after you, I would not worry as the previous comment said

Quote:Daisy304 said:I contacted the Atrium (Festiva/Patton Hospitality Group) recently and they said I own it for life.

Not true. I walked away several years ago when Festiva somehow managed to find a crooked island judge to void the legal contract that I signed for my week, paving the way for a special assessment. I had a collection company calling me repeatedly, and they went so far as to say my non-payment would ruin my credit score. I figured since it was an offshore contract there wasn't a thing they could do....and I was right.

I think you have received some good information as to what action you need to take in returning a timeshare.

1. Read your original agreement and if necessary, get help to understand your options.2. Choose your method of termination especially if you plan to return to your resort as a renter in the future. 3. Do not be intimidated by resort owners/management threats or supposed "policies" that cannot be legally enforced.4. Stay current on maintenance fees for timeshare used. Remember that most timeshare maintenance is billed prior to your use.

Many of us are evaluating our timeshare status since many maintenance fees have reached or exceeded the level of a conventional SXM resort rental.